Family taps into power of Legos learning

KNIK — As he talks about his family’s business, Jon Doney puts a robotic dog made of Lego blocks on the floor and turns it on.

“This here is one of the more advanced ones. It responds to sound and it also responds to sight,” Doney said.

He was right — the puppy would stop periodically and look around. It didn’t bump into anything, but made a beeline for the person talking.

Open for a little less than a month, Bricks 4 Kidz on the Knik-Goose Bay Road is part of a national chain that aims to teach kids science, math, art, architecture and various other subjects using piles of those familiar multi-colored building blocks.

Doney’s mother, Carmela Doney, is the owner. She said she came across the idea when she was looking for a change in career. She said she wanted to do something that made her happy, but also something she could do with her kids and grandkids.

“I don’t know how I got to the Website but I was like, ‘hunh! This is something I could do,’” she said.

Jon Doney had just finished up a college degree in business management and hospitality. Carmela Doney said she asked him to give her a year to help with the launch of the store, and he agreed.

Like a lot of Valley parents, she said she was often stymied with what to do with the kids. She likes the idea that she can provide another option.

“This doesn’t only work for the smaller kids,” she said. “Sometimes it’s hard to find something for 8- or 9-year-olds.

The robot dog is something kids can build as part of a Bricks for Kids program. Lego has many different robotic creations as part of its Mindstorm line.

Bricks 4 Kidz has also gotten into stop-motion animation, showing kids how to make movies using Lego bricks and people. Jon Doney showed off an example of a finished product. The movie’s title — “Attack of the Aliens” — says it all.

Jon Doney said that so far the store has been kind of slow. But Friday they wrapped up a birthday party and the week before finished a round of week-long Lego camps.

So far, there haven’t been any hiccups.

“The only trouble we’ve had is getting kids to leave when it’s time to leave,” Carmela Doney said.

The Doneys figured they’d take the summer to work the kinks out. The goal is to eventually partner with the school district for elementary level science enrichment programs. And they have their eyes set on expanding to Anchorage eventually.

“Here is where we live, where I have my support,” Carmela Doney said of why she chose to open in the Valley first.

If the story of the franchise is any indication, expansion certainly isn’t out of the question. Bricks 4 Kidz started in Florida and has moved into almost every state, Canada, Puerto Rico and elsewhere.

The appeal, Carmela Doney said, is pretty obvious. It’s education that meets kids where they live.

“They already know Legos. We’re just giving them a different perspective,” she said.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.